Jolla phone update: Sailfish OS 1.1.1.27 Vaarainjarvi

Jolla system update 10
UPDATE: Now for all the users

Finally here, Sailfish OS Vaarainjärvi update for Jolla phone. We're looking forward especially for some promised fixes in the memory handling - let's see how's the multitasking experience now.

Note: If you didn't install previous opt-in update, this update requires 2Gb of free space

Jolla System update 10, December 18-22, 2014

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Update, December 22:

Note: It's important to prepare to this install with enough of free space on your Jolla. At least 2Gb recommended. You might also want to check your memory allocation space in advance, chcking the last row after using command btrfs fi show in the terminal app. Quote from the release notes:

As usual, before attempting to upgrade your Jolla,

• Take a backup of your phone content and copy it to SD card

• Clean up your phone from unnecessary data (old backups, downloaded content etc) before attempting to upgrade the software. This is to ensure that the software update has enough diskspace to complete its operation.

• If your device is running software version lower than 1.0.4.20 and have WareHouse app installed (i.e you are using OpenRepos), disable all openrepo repositories

• Sailfish OS 1.1.1.26 was first released on December 18th
• hotfix* 1.1.1.27 on the next day for opt-in Uitukka users and The First Ones
• update 1.1.1.27 for everybody is available starting on Monday, December 22, 2014

*Hotfix was released to fix an issue related to a new feature, alphanumeric lock code. This hotfix was only 1.9Mb of "stability improvements" and it was released only for those who had already installed version 1.1.1.26:

Note: If you didn't receive a notification of this update yet, check here when this update will be available for you too

Note: If you're experiencing any issues during the update process requiring deeper actions or fixes, please refer to this post (Jolla Zendesk) about using recovery menu


Original post, December 18, 2014:

Jolla delivered this update quite a lot later than expected, this time 5 months after the previous public release (or two months after the latest opt-in update Sailfish OS Uitukka). Now, Sailfish OS Vaarainjärvi is finally here, and after a very quick test I'm - YES - recommending you to install it - seems that the latest is the greatest.

Reasons for the delay were related to huge Qt 5.2 update, which caused problems from the beginning, were there with some issues left on the opt-in update, and are hopefully behind us now. My first impression (personal opinion): Recommending to install Vaarainjärvi. This seems like a great update - but it's huge, please prepare with more that 2Gb of free space. I personally recommend to have as much as 3Gb to avoid any btrfs issues after the update.

In overall, both the stability and response time are better that earlier. Apps launches fast, and you can have many of them on the background (covers) at the same time again. The ability to have unique app cover for each Android app is still there, Jolla is a great multitasking machine.

New on Sailfish OS Vaarainjärvi - full changelog at TJC

• Memory handling Zram support added. Multitasking is back and the user experience is great. Quick launch of apps, smooth scrolling in Browser, music playing on the background. Running even larger Android apps side by side seems ok
• Alien Dalvik Updates to the Android layer might bring some more compatibility with the latest versions of Android apps
• Calendar You can now edit a single event in a serie of recurring events
• Emergency call New button on lock screen
• App launch New progress circle while waiting for applications to launch
• Lock code Now supports all the letters (Feature removed on 1.1.1.27)
• Silence Alarm sound by simply turning your Jolla upside down or by pressing power key shortly. This causes "snooze", available earlier only via a pulley menu on top
• Silence incoming phone call (The same ways as above)
• Connectivity Several bug fixes and some new APN settings added to networks in e.g. Hungary and India
• CalDAV accounts few minor fixes
• Shutdown automation is better, phone no longer goes off while connectiong to charger between 0 - 2%
• Copypaste between Android and Sailfish apps

Including features introduced on the opt-in update Uitukka,
Top10 picks from the update - full changelog at TJC

• New views in Maps now includes satellite, transit and pedestrian maps. You can find these via tapping "Here" icon on bottom left, then tapping the map type text at the bottom. Additionally, in the street map and pedestrian map you can also switch to night mode
• User Interface, dotting: Most visible change, affecting in all Sailfish OS applications, is that the content pages on left or right are now marked with a "half dot" instead of line of dots on top of the screen. This might annoy some users in the very beginning, but after a while I suppose it's just nice
• Alien Dalvik, low memory killers: Information about running low on RAM is now available to Android apps. Now some apps are capable to close older processes in the background while they run low on memory, and there are clear limits when an Android apps closes automatic, last one being the one running in the foreground. This should reduce situations where users have experienced a sudden crash of an app with no visible reason.
• Alien Dalvik, several bug fixes: The most visible one is better GPS support for Android applications (network support added)
• Application framework: Qt 5.2 Big, update with not too much to see. This update has more impact on the application development, enabling new features and better coding. Please note that some 3rd party applications might not yet be updated to support Qt 5.2, which might affect on their usability - if you find an issue, please report those to the app developer for example via adding a comment to the Jolla Store.
• Bug fixes: Jolla lists 238 lines of fixed bugs in their release notes! Just a random pick: [BUG] Email signature is not shown in special conditions
• Improvements, Calendar: New meeting organizer, including an option to add attendees (participants) to an event. Also, a nasty bug affecting an event to be saved on wrong day is fixed. 
• Sailfish Utilities (new app): After installing this app from Jolla Store, you find new system maintenance options in your settings 
• Feature, Media: Search for your content added
• Improvement, People: Search field always visible

Images (previous opt-in update, included to this update as well)

Maps app, new features:
Satellite view and Street view with Night setting

User interface: Dots on top are moved to the edge of screen.
Together app settings and Jolla Settings/Accounts/New

Known issues not yet fixed on this release

• Browser: After zooming, some pages might dislocate links or buttons. Affecting on some web sites only, e.g. Blogger. Recommended to use secondary browser (webcat, Android browsers) on these sites until this is fixed.
• Turn by turn voice navigation: This feature is not coming up, according to Jolla's answer at TJC. However, several Android navigation apps are reported to work just fine. I'm recommending NavFree from Aptoide Store
• SD card: sometimes the card must be manually reattached to access the files
• Video recording: Audio quality is reduced after few seconds of recording
• Video codec issue: Videos recorded with Jolla camera and uploaded to internet without converting are not played by Jolla's own web browser. As a workaround, convert the clips (e.g. Youtube converts all uploaded videos automatic)

Problems after updating the system?

• TJC search link, tag "bug" & word "1.1.1.27"

The next Sailfish OS update?

• If Jolla gets back to the original schedule, already in January
• Follow us at Twitter, Facebook or Google+ - to be among "The First Ones" to know

Previous updates

• Sailfish 1.1.0.38 Uitukka (opt-in) (hotfix 1.1.0.39)
• Sailfish 1.0.8.19 Tahkalampi (security hotfix 1.0.8.21)
• Sailfish 1.0.7.16 Saapunki (optional hotfix 1.0.7.18)
• Sailfish 1.0.5.16 Paarlampi
• Sailfish 1.0.4.20 Ohijärvi
• Sailfish 1.0.3.8 Naamankajärvi
• Sailfish 1.0.2.5 Maadajavri
• Sailfish 1.0.1.10 Laadunjärvi

Sailfish OS Vaarainjärvi - the naming

We've kept you up to date with these Finnish lakes which Jolla is using in their release naming. Vaarainjärvi is yet another smaller lake (1,43 ha) located near Raahe, Finland. The surrounding area has very few lakes, and even this one is just some water between some trees in a forest.

"Vaarain" is a local Finnish word used in this area meaning a rasberry - direct translation of the update being "Rasberry Lake". In other areas of Finland, word "vaara" stands for a hill/small mountain or a danger, but the name should be translated using the local meaning in this case.

There are 187 888 lakes in Finland, including the small ones, so we might have more than a few updates coming up. Looking at the size of Vaarainjärvi we could speculate that this is a small update. Visually this actually seems like smaller update, but there might be quite a few lines of code under the surface.

Updates 1-10 on the map

Cropped as background for your Jolla

TIP: hold finger on top with Jolla Browser to get it into your gallery

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Photo credits: Raahen seutukunta/Leena Harju - Seaside near Raahe on ice, close to lake Vaarainjärvi
Map data by Google
Published: December 18, 2014 16:32 UTC
Updated: December 23, 2014 10:00 UTC